Chapter 65: Uhm Who Is In Charge?

“I told you we should have brought someone who knew where we were going” Jarix protested as they flew along the forest's edge.

They had been at this for nearly an hour now and no sign of any dragonettes. Tom reckoned Jarix was fast even on the cruise Tom reckoned maybe 130 to 140 as they went along. Meaning they had likely covered over 80 kilometers already accounting for a bit of backtracking here and there. And yet they had found nothing.

“This doesn’t make sense, could they still be on the ground searching for those herb things?” Tom questioned.

“Look don’t ask any of us, we have no clue” Radexi defended.

“Let’s land for a bit before we get completely lost.”

“Okay then, go down low and circle back again, I’m used to navigating by ground, let’s see if we can find where we hunted those red deer.”

“Fine, at least that is more fun than this,” Jarix replied, clearly not very optimistic.

Radexi and Tom took a shoulder each as they sat peering out ahead trying to spot something.

It took a while but they finally came across a familiar-looking hilltop.

“There, left turn one eighth” They seriously needed to improve on this system.

“Left turn” Jarix replied, flying over the hilltop and sure enough there were the tracks left by his quadbike… why hadn’t they just followed those?

“Goddammit, I’m an idiot. We could just have followed those tracks”

“What why… what is that?” Jarix questioned.

“My quad bike, you’ll see soon enough those lead home.”

“You really aren't good at this are you?” Radexi added from behind.

“Yeah yeah, I can't fly that’s my excuse. Well, we are where we are supposed to now. So where are they?”

“I’m gonna get some altitude so they can see us.”

Jarix climbed up hard, he was surprisingly nimble for his size and even seemed to be able to match the dragonettes for climb-rate. He wasn’t even breathing hard from doing so either.

“Jarix targets two-thirds left. Is that them?” Radexi asked, pointing to the horizon. Tom strained to look. He did make out four dots on the horizon which seemed to be approaching. That was behind them though.

“Yep” came the reply from Jarix. “Turning to intercept” It took a few minutes for the range to close but eventually Tom could make them out as well.

As they reached each other the dragonettes turned to match Jarix's direction, setting down on his back. All seeming a little winded, especially Wiperna.

“Why didn’t you stop? We’ve been chasing for kilometers." Fengi questioned setting down.

“I didn’t see you” Tom replied. Zarko looked less than pleased.

“Who was rear lookout?” Radexi and Tom looked at each other. “For a teacher you sure suck at learning Tom and I expect better from you.” She went pointing at Radexi.

Wiperna was still wheezing trying to catch her breath clearly not used to this kind of flying.

“Whu… why are you so fast?”

“That is my job, who gave me such a kind compliment?” Jarix responded.

“Wiperna” She got out.

“Right, you’re the one whose fields I need to plow I think”

“This is a weird day” Wiperna went, giving up and just laying down.

“So you all look tired” Tom tried in as innocent a voice as he could manage.

“I’m not” Jackalope replied with her usual lack of tact standing proudly with of all things two jackalopes hanging over her shoulder. ‘touche’ Tom thought to himself.

“Well, that is good to hear” Zarko replied in a discouraging tone which achieved exactly nothing.

“Wanna race?”

“Uhh yeah,” Jarix replied as if that was the easiest question ever, which to his credit it might well be. “Not with all you lot on board you are rather heavy you know”

Tom looked around at the six people currently standing on Jarix’s back while flying. Well, Wiperna was still lying down which didn't really help with the space situation.

“Oh shut it Jarix it’s good exercise,” Zarko replied

“I flew nearly a week to get here. I don't need more exercise right now and my belly is full from last night as well.”

“Yesterday you were starving, now you're overfed. Does a happy medium exist?”

“Fewer people on my back would do nicely”

“Oh, poor dragon who can’t handle a few passengers”

“Really? How about I try and stand on you one day and see how that goes” They were clearly joking. Tom guessed they had known each other for a while. Based on what Archeon said, Jarix should be good for over a ton of cargo probably more. “And I only said if I was going to race someone.”

“Uhm before any racing could we not get some hunting?” Fengi asked. “Tom, could you do that trick you and Sapphire did again?”

“Sure I think Jarix has a better idea though.”

There was a bit of a crackle, then a boom, that made everyone flinch, followed by a chuckle from Jarix.

“Oh yeah, I do.”

Jackalopes excitement was both visible and audible as she cheered “Best hunt ever. No offense Tom”

”Hell no I can’t compete with a flying lightning cannon… Not yet at least”

“Isn’t that irresponsible?” Wiperna questioned.

“I’m not a huntress, who has seniority here?”Zarko replied. It was at that moment Tom realized the catastrophic error that had been committed, as he turned to Jackalope who was standing there obliviously. The only silvered huntress present.

As it finally clicked for her, she began cackling madly rubbing her hands together. “Let's get started”

__________________________________________________________________________________

Sapphire was getting the distinct impression Baltehon was making this easy for her. Not once had she even had to go for something philosophical or even a metaphor. She didn’t mind, but after a while, the game did sort of die a bit. She had learned the one to her left, was called Canabrera, she was a little older than Sapphire, only a few years though and they had gotten a decent conversation going.

She even knew where Vultcha Keep was, apparently having made a few stops there in the past, having served with another trader who had elected to take some time off having made enough money for a while.

Canabrera was one of the newly hired escorts following the bloody battle to reach Bizmati keep. After a bit, Canabrera brought out some dice in a little box with a glass lid. Sapphire hadn’t seen one before. it was rather clever, even if you had to time the dice throws with the wingbeats to keep them from rolling around.

Sapphire had never been a gambling person, but a friendly game was always good fun. She glanced over at Baron every once in a while. As much as she would like to berate the bitch all the way there she was fairly confident things were gonna be more entertaining over here. She wondered how they would manage with Jarix back home. She had never seen a dragon hunt before, Esmeralda would get him in line though she was sure of that… Wait.

“Dakota!”

“What is it Saph?” Dakota replied, seemingly a bit confused at the sudden outburst.

“We left Jacky in charge of the hunt, with a dragon and Tom” Dakota developed a sort of deep thousand-yard stare. Not answering

“Ohh noo” Balethon added, shaking his head.

“What’s the matter, surely it can’t be that bad, she seemed friendly enough,” Canebrera questioned.

__________________________________________________________________________________

“Target dead ahead, we’ll break ’em up for ya. Fengi, Wiperna with me. Wanna come Zarko?”

“I’m fine here, the boys need some oversight I think.” This was yet another in the long list of stupid ideas that might work. Tom should maybe have tried to take some more responsibility but Jackalope was in charge so any disasters were on her after all. IT didn’t hurt that he really wanted to see how this lightning breath worked.

“Suit yourself, Geronimo!”

“Does she actually know what she is doing?” Radexi questioned.

“More than any of us I’m afraid” Tom answered.

“She seems very sensible” Jarix added, sounding perfectly serious. Perhaps assessing people’s character should be worked into the lessons Tom thought to himself.

The three girls set about herding the deer away from the forest further into the open marshes. Jarix following behind from above so as not to scare them yet.

“Now Tom this is gonna be a steep dive. Make sure those goggles are secure and you hang on tight.” Zarko went in a serious tone. Tom had no clue how quickly an 8-ton dragon could dive but it was likely fairly fast, so he did as instructed. He moved to make sure he had both good foot and handholds.

“They’re starting to split up now, here we go” Jarix pitched down pulling his wings in close to his sides as they began to fall. The sensation of being pulled down by Jarix was different from when Tom had flown with the dragonettes. They fell at about the same rate this was like holding onto an elevator with its cables cut. As the dive continued Tom guessed they were well above terminal velocity for a human. They had maybe 1.000 meters of altitude to scrub and Jarix didn’t seem to mind falling most of the way in one go.

Tom pulled himself close to Jarix lying as flat as he could manage the wind screaming in his ears. He had no clue how fast they were going, but he was fairly sure this was a new speed record for him in this world. Zarko and especially Radexi seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely, even if Tom was unsure as to whether it was the dive or him providing the entertainment.

As they approached the ground Jarix started to slowly extend his wings, but only by a little. Tom looked around fighting the wind to get a better look. He was making a kind of delta wing? As the young dragon started to pull up the familiar sense of G-forces returned it was a strange feeling when lying on top of something but it was no less thrilling. This was a proper rollercoaster.

“Wuuuhuuu!!” Tom let out in glee. Oh yeah, this was about as much fun as he had imagined as a kid.

They came upon the herd of red deer they were still traveling at considerable speed. Tom strained to get as good a look as he could manage, looking over the side in front of Jarix’s left-wing.

He saw Jackalope off to the side, clearly positioned to get the best view she could as they came speeding by. Tom felt the hairs on his neck stand on end as the air around him almost started to crackle. The sound was more like that of a rail gun charging as Jarix inhaled it with a static electric whine that sent shivers down Tom’s spine. Followed by a single bright streak of bluish light that looked more like a beam than a lightning bolt. It impacted the ground in a split second resulting in a bright flash with lightning arcing in every direction, even in the middle of that day it was perfectly visible.

No long breath spreading the love around, it was like a single shot that hit the ground, followed by an echoing boom. Jarix hadn’t even managed to hit one of the deer, but the electrical arcs could be seen spreading through the grass as they went by.

Jarix pulled in a fresh breath letting out a sigh.

“Pheew, that oughta do it”

“Good shot, right on target”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Radexi added.

Tom looked behind them to see, maybe half a dozen deer all lying legs in the air, the grass blackened all around the small crater in the ground. The three girls came circling down as the remaining deer bolted in a blind panic.

“Holy shit” Tom let out gawking. That was one hell of a weapon, and he had been worried about a damn machine gun.

“Try that on for size, mister nearly as well-armed as me” Jarix went in a sarcastic tone, scoring a short laugh from Zarko and Radexi.

“Not gonna argue with that. Though it would be more like a storm of lightning”

“Oh I can do that too” Jarxi clarified “Spitting works great for ground targets though”

“You can say that again”

They had come down next to the others taking a look at the damage, which was extensive. Jackalope was beside herself with excitement of course.

“That was awesome, look at them! I mean that one is a bit busted, but still, look at them!”

Tom glanced around at the fairly singed looking deer, one clearly having been a bit close to the impact site. It was a disfigured mess hardly recognizable as a deer. He slid off Jarix to have a look around, inspecting the ground and the impact crater.

“You want that one Jarix? I mean it’s already sorta cooked.” Jackalope then went. pointing at the chared deer.

“Eew no, I don’t like raw meat, that’s for savages”

“We can light a fire under it if you want” She continued

“No thanks,” Jarxi replied, clearly not thrilled with the prospect.

“Isn’t this cruel?” Wiperna had questioned, clearly disturbed by the scene. In hindsight bringing the resident animal lover along might not have been the brightest idea, they had ever had.

“I doubt a deer has died this quickly around here in a while. Well short of when Sapphire decides to show off, anywho we need to get these back to the keep.” Jackalope’s answer sounding a tad annoyed at the part about Sapphire. “How much can you carry Jarix?”

Jarix took a step back looking at all the six dead deer. “Five is no problem” He finally replied, looking at the mangled one Tom was now inspecting.

“What’s the matter, soldier? Scared of blood?” Tom questioned

“No of course not. I’ll take five, they look heavy.”

“I guess we will have to come back for the last one then.” Tom just stated, getting up.

“But my harness” Jarix pleaded. Tom had to admit it was very nice. Mostly made of the dark blue leather the dragonettes seemed to use for most things. There were some white pieces here and there though. Most of the handholds were polished metal too and there was even some engraving on parts of the armor plates.

“A soldier that doesn’t want to get dirty? I have shown you what a soldier is expected to go through, does this look bad to you? Or do I need to get a mud bath going?”

“I’ll take all six... think you can scrub it out?” Jarix went looking to Radexi with a pained expression on his face.

“Sure thing boss” Well at least Radexi was still positive.

“I’ll grant you though it’s a nice harness. Perhaps we should have something less nice made for things like this.”

“But it’s mine though It was a gift from my mother.”

“Yeah, but there is no use ruining it. It should survive a bit of blood though if it’s as well made as it looks.” Jarix just let out a discontented grump as an answer.

By the time they had finished carrying all the deer up and lashing them down securely, Jarix looked more like a medivac for a fictional deer army than a hunter on the job. It did the trick though and they were soon airborne, the girls having gotten the herb collecting done prior to their arrival.

They had matched cruising speeds, the dragonettes flying under their own power with Jarix breaking the wind for them. It wasn’t fair that he had to carry both everything and everyone, after all. They had tried to keep the mess to a minimum but still, Radexi would have his work cut out for him.

They had set down outside the keep to begin the process of prepping the carcasses. Unkai and Herron had come down to meet them. In Tom and Esmeralda's stead, they had been tasked with taking care of the children for at least some of the day. Judging by the crying and the two very weary faces that had been a tall order even for a couple of hours.

“Hey Turinia, how is it going?” Tom tried in his best diplomatic voice.

“Holdey bit me” Turinia let out sobbing a bit.

“Holdey! that isn’t nice. Come here let me have a look at that.” Well, bite might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but there were actually teeth marks. Tom had struggled a bit with coming to terms with the at times slightly more violent tendencies of the dragonettes. This wasn’t that bad though.

“But she took my bricks!”

“NO, I was playing with them!”

“If you keep fighting over blocks of wood, like this you are never gonna get those legos I talked about. Now come here” Tom picked up Turinia to try and comfort her.

“Now now, no harm done and you shouldn’t take what isn’t yours either. Would you two help them unload? I’ll take care of this.” Raulf and Herron looked rather relieved at the prospect of physical labor so they must have had a rough time of it.

“Get yourself cleaned off Jarix and take some time off. There will be another movie tonight, a bit more fun than last time though..”

“Another movie?” Jackalope questioned excitedly.

“Yep two in fact, not about war though, but I think you are gonna like it.” Jackalope looked a little slack-eared, but Fengi and Wiperna definitely perked up at that.

So with Kiran clambering up to his usual perched Tom went about the next duty of his day. Trying to figure out whose bricks had been stolen and by whom. Maybe he should just make more bricks for them. That would have to come after winding the coils for the motor though. He wondered if Shiva was still conscious enough to discuss that?